13th Doctor: The Devils You Know
by Wandering7Doctors
Summary: An awkward crash leads the Doctor on a odyssey. She will travel to strange lands, facing the darkest demons while searching for the possiblity of the most dangerous of them all returning. Crossover Fiction with mutliple worlds characters in play, enjoy.
1. Introduction: The Tardis

The Doctor reclined in her Tardis against the console. An orange glow-yellow radiance from the walls made it appear made it feel like floating n heavenly rays of gold. The Fam were gone for the weekend, some weekend at least, she just needed to keep a date in mind and hopefully get back there before it got awkward. She missed them, but time to herself was a rare opportunity the new body hadn't experienced yet. With no direction to venture to, it was enough to sway through the stars with her oldest companion in the sea of time. An enjoyable moment of peace in a life of chaos.

Naturally, she should have expected the collision much sooner.


	2. Wave Rider Part 1

Several years aboard the Wave Rider should have made Capt. Sara Lance used to colliding with the unknown. But there she was, sprawled out of her favorite chair, needing to somersault to land on both feet, and dodging falling debris before catching a dagger that almost went through her eye.

"Gideon," Sara spun the weapon about to stick into those responsible. "What. The. Hell?"

_Captain, it appears we've collided with a temporal anomaly that fluctuated at our fre—_

"Gideon," Sara muttered. "Former assassin who likes knives, Ava, and doesn't do science, remember?"

The hyper-intelligent AI made an unnecessary sigh, quickly coming up with a 'Sara-Lance-approved' definition.

_We hit a blue police box and it's now currently in kitchen._

Sara blinked, once again confused by what her life has become since that lousy boat ride.

"Where's the team?"

The other Legends dealt with their latest chaos in different ways.

Charlie, fun-loving shapeshifter, turned into a giant spider she'd used occasionally to torment Gary at the Time Bureau and cling to the ceiling as the crash happened. She had no clue what was happening, but knew huge spiders tended to be the bigger gun most circumstances. The Shapeshifter counted on that being helpful while making her way towards the mysterious groaning noise.

Ray Palmer and Nora Darhk were in the middle of an uncertainty. She wanted to push their relationship in fun directions while Ray brought up hypotheticals of why that might complicate things. Magic and science were at odds in more ways than one when Nora was suddenly thrown off balance, only to be scooped up in Ray's surprisingly strong arms. Ray was about to set her down, but the spellcaster looked at him in a way that made him pause. Before he could say anything, she put a hand over his mouth.

"You talk too much, Palmer," she leaned in. "Interested?"

Ray grunted affirmatively, nodding. With a smirk, Nora waved her other hand and they flew onto the bed. From there, science along with magic were cast aside to make way for highly passionate chemistry.

There were days John Constantine wished he stayed in Hell. Present company being better than any thought deserved aside, his old habits called to him. Smoking chief among those vices. It seemed as if the whole universe conspired to never let a stick of accepted poison touch his lips again. The worst offender in this conspiracy, that damn AI. Despite being artificial, the Hellblazer knew Gideon to be a clever sprite worthy of either Fae Court, controlling all their lives in her tangled web of machinery.

However, for all technical prowess, Constantine still had a few tricks. He'd create bubble to conceal the smoke, condense into a small ball and expel it from the Wave Rider at leisure.

"Let's see you try and stop me now, you knock-off GPS."

Constantine decided on using the washroom, no one did laundry around that time. Clapping his hands together, eyes rolled back in concentration, he began channeling the chaotic energies of the unseen until through flesh and will he could con—

The crash made Constantine scramble his words, redirecting energy at the washing machine. Shadowy tentacles burst from the device.

"Oh, c-mmph!" John's mouth and limbs were wrapped up, pulling him towards a pair of blood-red eyes. Straining to reach his lighter, John wondered why no alarms were going off. Whether a lack of demon sensors or Gideon's trite cruelty, all Constantine knew was how badly a bit of fire might be helpful.

Behrad Tomaz swore never to make a bet with Mick Rory ever again. Said defeat had led him to become the sorter of Mick's fan mail. Since revealing himself to be Rebecca Silver, the Science-Fiction-Romance writer, Mick's fans had tripled. Some former acquaintances were now reading the series. Iris, Felicity, Dinah, and even a strange letter from Caitlin Snow that started as half-heartedly supportive and suddenly shifted penmanship and tone with threatening about some time with a bomb. The young Muslim man had seen many strange things since joining the Legends, telling his sister, Zari, about the adventures kept him grounded in hard times. Yet the recognition Mick, former and somewhat current menace to society, gave his fans was… perplexing.

"I mean, we're on a ship traveling through time and space every day, when did you arrange a spot for the letters?" Behrad said as he sorted each by country, state, and city.

"A writer finds time for their readers, because they found time for them." Mick said in his grizzled voice while thumbing through each letter with reading specs on.

Behrad smiled to himself, impressed by the pyromaniac's deeper wisdom, as he picked up a rather impressively enthusiastic letter by… Nyssa Al Ghul?

The crash struck the kitchen worst of all. Appliances fritzed from sudden power surges. Cabinets and drawers spilled out their contents everywhere. Mick grabbed the table for support, his eyes widened as letters started to spill off. A gust of wind coming Behrad's outstretched hand with the totem bracelet saved the pile. His other hand gripped the table to keep from flying into a wall, wondering what was making the strange groaning sound.

The answer came in the form of a blue police box, haphazardly taking shape five feet away.


	3. Wave Rider Part 2

Behrad and Mick looked at blue Police Box for a moment before speaking, just making it was indeed there.

"What is it?" Behrad said where the chaos ended and he could stand on the ground.

"IT'S FIREWOOD!" Mick growled, raising his infamous heat ray. Behrad briefly wondered where the weapon had been hidden but shook it off while raising the totem, its red gem glowed with power.

"Not so fast, boys." Sara said as she stepped into the room. "Let's wait a sec and see what's needed." She a point of showing off the dagger, ready to stab.

Ray and Nora stumbled in, both haphazardly dressed. The Captain eyed them shrewdly, walking by to make sure they were at least armed, and also high-fived Nora on the way past. The clacking of legs made a few Legends, namely Ray, yelp at the giant spider slinking down to the floor.

"Cool it, loves, it's just me game face." Charlie's voice coming out the creature's mandibles wasn't too strange, mostly just another Monday for most Legends.

John Constantine staggered in last, loose remains of what looked like tentacles hung off him.

"We need a new washing machine," Constantine said. He froze when his full gaze settled on the Police Box. "No way."

"John, you recognize this thing?" Sara said.

"Mostly from stories more than experience, love, but yeah, I think I know whose inside. They might be a bit shy."

"Are 'They' a threat?"

"Only if you come at 'em armed, if the stories are true then whole armies have fallen against this person. The Doctor."

As if on cue, the door opened. A single sheet of paper slipped out. Sara eyed the confusingly deep entrance coated in shadow before picking it up.

_I happily come in peace, or if you're too violent to care, I happily accept your surrender._

_The Doctor_

"I'd heed the warning, Captain," Constantine said wearily. "This one's the most dangerous warrior in the universe."

"Helper, actually," a blonde-haired woman said as she leaned out of the box. "I honestly prefer helping, it's the bit with trying to have everyone get along that causes explosions." The woman stepped out wearing blue slacks with suspenders over a black shirt with a rainbow across. Her brown boots clanged on the metal floor as the grey-hooded cloak bellowed with each step.

"You the Doctor?" Sara said.

"Depends," she said. "May I come in peace?"

"Um, yeah, sure."

"Oh, Brilliant!" The Doctor shouted as she shook Sara's hand. "You have no idea how often that doesn't happen. Thank you." Sara smiled awkwardly while casually dropping the dagger and kicking it into a far corner of the kitchen.

Ray cautiously walked over to the box, Nora following as backup. They leaned in the entrance, pulled back, looked around, and stuck their heads inside.

"Um, Captain," Ray said confusingly. "This things..."

"No touching!" The Doctor snapped her fingers and the door shut abruptly. Ray and Nora had enough to quickly duck back, everyone was now less aggressive but now very confused about their 'guest'.

"Sorry," the Doctor said. "We're working on different types of tachyons, best not to get too familiar."

"Well, you're the one shaking my hand."

"And crashing into the kitchen." Mick growled.

"Landed," the Doctor corrected. "Crashing implies a mess." She suddenly noticed how disheveled everyone looked as well as the extensive damage on the floor. "Sorry, didn't mean for us to get tangled up. The Tardis should get us sorted out soon."

"The Tardis?" Behrad said as he cautiously stepped around the blue box.

"Yep," the Doctor gestured at the means of her arrival. "Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Get me about where I'm needed. So, what do you call yours?"

"Well, we call our ship The Wave Rider." Ray said with a proud grin.

"The Wave Rider," the Doctor said, clasping a hand to her head while smiling. "Wait, that mean… Yes! You're The Legends!"

She looked about at the team, now with growing awe and appreciation. Her eyes settled on the giant spider.

"And you have Charlie the Shapeshifter. I love this part of your adventures. You are my favorite."

"Wait, she's your favorite?" Ray said while Nora gently elbowed him.

"Let's just say I appreciate someone who always works to be awesome no matter how they look on the outside."

Charlie's spider eyes sparkled. She raised her spidery limb and the woman took enthusiastically. A rush of orange light consumed the creature and quickly turned the spider into the more charming form resembling former-Legend, Amaya Jiwe. The Doctor became even more excited at Charlie's recognized form as part of the team.

"Okay, why the Hell didn't anyone tell me I could have fans? Cause you just became my new best friend."

"Well, as nice as that sounds, I honestly can say with experience that time travel being what it is, probably shouldn't make a habit of us meeting up like this."

"Care to explain how this happened in the first place?" Sara interjected. "Not that you don't seem nice, but we prefer actually having dishes in one piece."

The Doctor let go Charlie's hand and awkwardly acknowledged the crumbling kitchenware.

"Right," the Doctor said. "Thing is, I'm usually not expecting to meet anyone else riding the timelines like me. This was unexpected, but the Tardis should be figuring out the safeguards to keep us both collision-free in the future. It is truly great to meet you all. Big fan."

"It's because of groups like you I know that the world is safe, a least in this dimension, mine functions on a different level from your multiverse."

"So that's why I've never seen this infamous blue box in my London," Constantine said. "Must have heard about it during more existentially fun times."

"Ah, yes, John Constantine," the Doctor said with a frown. "Almost forgot you joined the party around this time."

"Heard of me?"

"Nothing too nice."

"Not much nice to find." John said with a smirk.

"Right," the Doctor said with a sigh, "Anyway, while I'm here, I'd be honored to help pick up after myself and hopefully get to meet the other Legends. Say, where's Z—"

_DOCTOR_

The Time Lord jumped.

"Who is that? Gideon?"

_Indeed, Doctor, it is a pleasure to meet you. _

"Right, it's a bit awkward though. No offense, but thinking about it, this whole thing feels like… cheating."

_On the contrary, your Tardis and myself are getting along quite well_

The Police Box chimed brightly. The Time Lord looked annoyed.

"Can't take you anywhere, always showing off, _flirting_." The Doctor shook her head disappointedly. "Okay, time clean up and make friends."

While the Tardis worked, the Doctor quickly took up the task doing her part among the Wave Rider. She helped Ray fix the washing machine, giving John side-eye as they pulled out shadowy tendrils. The Doctor and Behrad wandered the engineering section, where she helped calibrate safeguards against the Tardis, wondering who the strange man was. Mick proved harder to win over until an off-hand comment hinted he would become of the most recognized Romance writers for centuries to come, she got a autographed copy of his newest manuscript. Charlie made a game, the Doctor kept her eyes closed and guessed what the form the Shapeshifter took, the Time Lord got every one right, even the shape of herself in less-than-appropriate traveling attire. Sara, Nora, and the Doctor took time to have a drink and muse themselves on the pros and cons traveling brought; not enough to overcome the madness but it was always pleasant drink in good company. Through it all, the Doctor remembered in small ways by feeling the history of the fantastic ship how everything can be faced when in company, smiling with private gratitude that this sentiment was proven through the Wave Rider.

Only one thing remained to be explained before leaving, the Time Lord's curiosity simply couldn't be ignored. Finding a spot undisturbed by Legends, she made an attempt at answers. What she hadn't expected was beautiful brunette to pop up behind her.

"Gideon?" the Doctor asked, confirming when she recognized the shimmering eyes.

"Doctor," Gideon said in a far less digitized voice. "I decided that this private conversation would be more practical if you had someone to properly speak with."

"I see," the Doctor said. "Good call, my Tardis and I did a similar conversation once."

"I know." Gideon said with a sweet grin. It annoyed the Time Lord.

"Fast friends, the two of you," she muttered. "I bet you explained to _her_ before me, where or why Zari Tomaz isn't onboard the Wave Rider. And who is that nice fellow doing the engineering instead?"

The chipper demeanor vanished as somber expression formed. Gideon explained a paradox, how recent adventures had forced the Legends to change the future. The dystopic hellscape of 2030 had been replaced by one of tolerance and peace. Zari Tomaz, as the Legends had once known her, was gone. While the events involving a battle of mystic totems had occurred, it was Behrad who joined the Legends as a somewhat skilled Wind Mage using his family totem.

"As far as the Legends are concerned, this has been the norm since year three of our adventures."

"Yet you remember."

"Charms of having a multidimensional consciousness," Gideon said. "While I do miss Zari, I would hope to believe that a world where her family is safe and brother a hero she might be at peace with the price."

The Time Lord's mind flickered with all those family and loved ones who had been lost along the way on her end.

"If you ever find out if it is, don't tell me. Can't stand the idea of any loss being worth more than life. But… I hope Zari's happy too, wherever she is. Say, if she's not on the Wave Rider, then where?"

"Forgive me, Doctor, but further knowledge might complicate the paradox we on the Wave Rider, poorly, try to avoid."

"Understood," the Doctor. "Look after them, they'll need you, Gideon."

"Always." Gideon said sweetly.

The Time Lord thought about it and decided that now was a great time to leave. She turned to make her way back to Tardis but Gideon made her move.

"Doctor," she called out, all sense of charm gone. "Do you really want to know why we crashed?"

The Doctor stopped.

"Careless navigating, nothing fancier." She said with no emotion.

"And her your Wife believed you to be smart after all those centuries flying her."

Shrugging her shoulders, the Doctor could feel a twisting knot of trouble start to take form. Relaxing, the problem remained, and she spun to face the AI.

"We crashed on purpose." The Doctor stated.

"Very good," Gideon said.

"A bit rude to your crewmates, though," the Doctor said. "Why not just phone it in."

"Because accidents are coincidence, and coincidences don't get spied on."

Leaning in, the Doctor sensed more than heard all higher functions slow down as Gideon did her best to 'whisper'.

_Doctor, we need you, there's a darkness returning. I've sent your ship the thread I picked up, follow it… save us all…_

The digitized lips whispered fearfully in her ear.

**He is awake**

Those nightmarish words had been heard three faces ago but had always haunted her since then. The question, the possibility, and worse of all knowing it would eventually come back. A dark, burning, laughter echoed in her mind. Looking at the AI with growing horror, the Doctor opened her mouth to speak and closed it. Nothing could be said, not even farewells, not with this danger.

There was only running. She sprinted down the Wave Rider's halls, the Tardis opening without any prompting. It shut, already activating to navigate darker waters than any should dare. Throughout the universe, there were hints of greater evil everywhere, but few dared to connect the paths. The Tardis could, and for the sake of all the Doctor started to follow the trail to its twisted source.

Time to find The Devil she knew.


	4. World 0-0

Luigi stood on the abyss, wondering what compelled Professor E. Gad to suggest this type of madness. He had jumped over chaotic chasms for years, his brother making it look so easy. And yet, this bordered on madness even for the man who invented the means to battle chaotic specters with a modified vacuum cleaner.

_Just hop on down there, Luigi. I'm 89% certain the drop won't lead to bone-breaking injury or death. Please, make sure my invention survives the fall. _

Trembling, wondering why life continued to be The Worst, the plumber straightened his green hat and jumped.

Sturdy brown shoes scrapped against the rocky surfaced, scraping at his back, wind rushed up as the slight connection made him tilt forward. The absolute sense of zero traction or support, knowing that the sensation would not stop until… the bottom, terrified him into silence. A growing chill as all light and warmth that belonged to the surface, to life, left him, Luigi grew tempted to close his eyes before it ended.

No.

Through the growing fatigue some deeper iron-clad ambition came to life. He remembered seeing Mario in bed, horrible bites on his body that the Mushroom Kingdom's best healers from every world struggled to mend. The Princess, Peach, never left his side. The Professor had confirmed at that injuries were of a supernatural nature. What was a brother to do but try and get answers?

Even if resolve hadn't kicked in, Luigi imagined his senses would have been shocked to life by the smell. Corrosive rot and bile created horrible toxic clouds that chocked his lungs with barely a whiff. Tears formed in his eyes, Luigi worked through the stinging pain to see what awaited below. Some deeper part told him it would not be wise to turn on his flashlight. Bracing for feet-first contact, the thump jolt every bone in the plumber's body. Luigi rolled, tumbling, bashing against stone, bits of green shell, and crunching into something semi-moist that promised nightmares if dwelt on too long. The tumble stopped abruptly, Luigi managed to remain standing with only a few scratches, nothing bleeding or broken, and all his equipment in one piece. An itinerary, he realized while looking out into the darkness, did not include anything to climb back up with. Haunted houses at least provided stairs…

After taking several awkward breaths, Luigi turned on a flashlight and started to move forward. Dark soil with stickiness of mud made each step a struggle against the Earth. Everything felt cold even with bundled layers, as if the land knew nothing but death and couldn't recognize the living or didn't care. Before, the plane had been to simply seek anything unusual and bring it back… someway…

Now Luigi simply needed to process what didn't feel like it belonged.

The groaning made him yelp, both noises bellowing for unknown miles. Luigi timidly moved towards the source. After moving around a massive mound of mangled creatures too decayed to specify, the Plumber found himself facing a large blue box. Out stepped a strange looking woman in a grey coat with blonde hair and strange glowing device in her hand.

"You know, it's when we come to places like _this_, that I miss Barcelona." The woman muttered at the strange box. Luigi trembled, nothing in his world could be given a chance of being called harmless; even plants had learned to grow teeth simply for survival. Also, while not towering, the woman happened to be taller Luigi, a detail he never felt safe about. Daisy even made fun of his anxieties, that his radar for danger had been over-worked that nothing could be safe. Pointing out how that trait many times had saved his skin never seemed to have the spine he wished it would. Granted, outside of her slight advantage in height, nothing screamed danger. Even when she looked right at him.

"Excuse me," she said. "I'm a bit lost. Or more specifically, I'm looking for something that should remain missing. Anything bad going on around here?"

Luigi fidgeted, not finding the words, so he allowed his flashlight to explain the rest. The light showed a grim history. Many beasts fell to their doom in the Mushroom Kingdom's deep pits. There were times Luigi imagined almost imagined he had fallen below, but clearly that couldn't be possible… right?

"Is this a feeding pen?"

"Um, wha," Luigi stammered. "N-No."

"That's' a shame," the woman said. "Because something didn't get the memo."

Swallowing fear, ignoring the familiar cold knots, Luigi stepped over to where the woman knelt. Yellow light from her device illuminated stubby legs and the lower half of mauled jaw. He had faced too many to not recognize the truth, this was a chewed up Goomba.

"Even for a minion of Bowser, this is too cruel." The woman said sadly.

Curiosity broke through his fear. This stranger had knowledge of the realm, enough to brave the abyss. Not a local, because no one else besides the Plumbers ever bothered to face these dark forces. Suddenly, Luigi remembered a curious story Mario once told him about an adventure with someone who had the same mannerisms some time ago.

"D-Doctor?"

She seemed surprised to hear the name. Turning the screeching device on him, Luigi felt as if unwillingly searched, especially with the fixation his hat.

"The brother," she said with a bright smile. "Mario told me if things got bad, the kingdom could count on you. Yes, I am the Doctor, it is a pleasure to be officially acquainted." She shook his slightly rigid hand. The woman sensed the unease.

"Something wrong," the Doctor asked. "You know, other than the atmosphere."

"Well, I'm a bit… confused," Luigi said. "You see, my brother, Mario, the Doctor he met was a man. Are you his sister?"

"Nope, not even close," she said firmly. "I am the same Time Lord who helped your brother. I've merely changed is all."

"I see." Luigi said in a way that proved he had no clue whatsoever.

"So, Luigi, right? Tell me what's happened?"

The Plumber explained the situation with few to no stutters. How Mario herd about Shy Guy tribes going missing. A mysterious group, but incredibly territorial. Even Bowser had to settle on a truce, so he could have any Koopa Troopas left. Yet whole tribes near haunted mansions vanished with no explanation. Seers who communicated with the Boos managed to attain one mutually agreed upon translation.

**Our bodies are no longer ours in the Dark.**

Mario had descended to the deepest depths of a haunted mansion, the places no one dares realize exist. Charged with Fire Flowers for illumination and protection, few forces could have faced him. Toads were called in, guided by Boos to where Mario dragged himself up a flight of stairs, bleeding. He ordered Luigi be contacted before losing consciousness. Professor E Gad had been the one to conclude Mario's wounds carried a supernatural edge.

"That's where I come in, Mario can face the living, but I've had experience with… the departed." His reluctant tone did not dissuade the Doctor's spark of admiration in her eyes.

"There is nothing braver than someone full of fear who charges forward regardless." The Doctor said. "Must come with the family. Fear is a superpower, and you've embraced it."

"Meaning?" Luigi asked nervously.

The Time Lord lowered her tool.

"It means you've found yourself the best kind of help, someone who appreciates that courage. How about it, partners?"

When Mario talked about the Doctor, he told his brother of stranger who managed to thwart a nightmare deadlier than anything Bowser could create. All without a weapon and the brightest smile. Regardless of gender, he could feel an energy that promised anything could be possible. With Mario in need of answers that could lead to a cure within this realm of nightmares, there could be no greater ally. The darkness, for once, no longer looked too grim for Luigi.

With a miracle woman leading the charge and a vacuum for whatever lay ahead, the two forward towards unknown horrors in the dark.


	5. Below the Mushroom Kingdom

There are places made to be forgotten. The deep, abandoned, underground where everything fell in the Mushroom Kingdom embodied this clearly. Piled cadavers along the rockface where spillover of bones and other decayed remains occurred every few hundred feet. Untended soil, hard as cold steel, promised an abrupt end for anyone who failed to jump across even a narrow gap.

"Have you ever thought of guardrails?" the Doctor tried counting how many bodies there were but kept losing the number to keep her lunch down. "Or bridges, I love those. The way they can be long or short, but always make you feel like you're invited to cross. How does anyone survive grocery shopping if they skip leg day?"

Luigi had been quiet for a while, the Time Lord decided one-sided conversations were more productive than listening to death's silent chorus. Quite disturbing, when things are so quiet that one's own heartbeats boom like bombs in the dark. To her surprise, and relief, the Plumber found his voice.

"We use the pipes." The blunt tone in his voice became understandable when they passed an obscuring pile of bones. A massive wall of lime-colored steel appeared, stretching on for miles, woven into the land to be as eternal as air. Seeing its rounder shape, the Doctor confirmed for herself that this indeed was not standard house plumbing.

"Are these what you work on, because I'd raise your rates."

She ran a hand along the pipe, surprised at its warmth. Luigi did the same, closing his eyes as if in prayer.

"They were made long, long ago, guided by willpower," Luigi explained. "You stand on top of it, or alongside an opening, and focus on seeking the other side. They each lead one place, not always somewhere friendly. Some use signs to highlight a destination, others Mario and I recognize through experience."

The Time Lord watched the Plumber with growing admiration, when her eye caught something peculiar.

"Say, Luigi, would anyone try sabotaging these pipes?"

He looked as if she uttered the unholiest blasphemy.

"Never," he stated. "Even Bowser knows to respect them. A single disruption would damage the lives of millions."

"I think that's the intent for whomever did this."

Pulling her hand away, the Doctor revealed a jagged green scar. There were no burns or metal fragments to imply a tool had been used. Miming the pattern with her index finger, the Doctor pieced together a theory.

"Someone's figuring out how to misbehave with your plumbing."

The Doctor used her sonic screwdriver to seek any remaining evidence. An electronic signal traveled up to the Time Lord's mind, decoded into comprehensive data. She received a diagnostic, not metal yet heated to an intense degree, but the energy output was interesting. Especially how similar reading resonated two hundred feet away.

"Got the signal," she said. "Let's get our shift on."

They charged off, guided by the jagged frequency towards very immediate danger. The possibility of survival depending on a vacuum cleaner came to mind as the Doctor noticed a sickly green spark. She noticed where the pipe had been dug up, as if by many hands. Claws, the Doctor corrected herself while looking closer, some of the diggers were missing fingers.

Her hand froze an inch from a polished patch of dirt, barley two feet of space that had been smoothed over. Recognizing what to look for, she saw twenty similar spot ahead… and thirty behind them. The Doctor lifted her head to speak but froze.

Barely an inch of movement, yet she felt it.

"RUN!"

A Koopa's skull burst from the dirt, almost chomping off the Doctor's hand as she pulled it back. Bone claws shot up, slashing for flesh. Luigi yelped as he barely dodged the ambushing skeletons. Grabbing his arm, the Doctor hauled them towards a gap within the minefield of reanimated deceased. Evading thrashing dirt-crusted limbs became harder as more attackers closed ranks to block their escape. Surrounded, the dead started to march forward, hollow eyes beckoning the two living souls towards a cruel end.

That's when the Doctor heard a vacuum come to life. While nothing implied this as the moment the tide turned, there was a confidence in Luigi's stance that could not be ignored. Nozzle raised, the Plumber activated an intense drag of air into his device. A nearby attacker's bones rattled under the pull until Its head became trapped on the device's mouth. With impressive strength, Luigi hefted the whole skeleton, slamming it into skulls, toppling them over like dominos. The Doctor wondered how much force could be exerted to create such a grip and quickly got her answer as Luigi switched to reverse. Their unwilling ally shot out like a cannon, smashing into Its bony kin. They now had an opening to leave.

"I think you'd be better off a cleaner than a plumber." The Doctor said as they charged free of peril.

"Maybe," Luigi used a hidden plunger on the device to grab one skeleton and break up pursuit by jamming them together. "I did manage to buy a mansion cleaning up a haunted house once." He did not seem fond of remembering that time, but the Time Lord could not deny look of pride in the slim Plumber's eyes. "What's our next move?"

"That's the good thing about traps, bad people usually set them up when you're getting close to where the evil plan is happening."

They followed the pipe, which far larger than anticipated as the ground turned into a steep hill. The green spark became blinding, only several feet away now. Not wishing to make an introduction without more detail, the Doctor and Luigi moved further away. They found a nearby patch of upturned dirt, close enough to see who was making the spark.

Most of their appearance was hidden behind a white cloak but the Doctor could see a pale hand holding a strange stone dagger. Energy erupted around it when making contact with the pipe. Without proper symbol or insignia, the Doctor had no possible way to identify their affiliation. However, the screwdriver did not lie. The signal thread Gideon had picked up, it echoed from this strange tool. The cuts from earlier and the current damage confirmed what was being done.

This troublemaker was trying to break open the pipe. Close inspection of the skeletons earlier implied they were reanimated with some strange formula. It carried a pathogen which the Time Lord guessed must have been what resulted in Mario's strange injuries. Jars of the concoction were nearby, prepared to be released when the pipe was burst open.

"Say, Luigi, where does this pipe lead?"

The Plumber peered over the hill, then pressed his hand against the dirt. The gloved fingers curled as Luigi's eyes were closed in concentration. A green light radiated from the L on his cap. The connection was severed when he released the ground, coming to life and trembling with terror.

"Oh no," Luigi said, "She's trying to break into a secret pipe, that'll spread this poison through Worlds 3,4,and 5. A whole quarter of the Kingdom will be overrun!"

The Doctor was about to try and calm him down when a greater question surfaced.

"Wait, she?"

The explanation came much sooner than hoped, almost taking off her head. A lack of welding helped the Time Lord duck violet shaded fireball.

"Very perceptive, Plumber," a cold voice said. "It is a shame your brother failed to consider better caution. Bumbling down here, some nasty bites should be expected when one dares to be so intrusive." Luigi's raged blazed but cooled with the Doctor's hand. Anger was only good when directed at something precise, she needed more data to get a proper target. Time for a conversation.

They stood up, no point in hiding, looking out at the woman in white and her skeleton army. The army formed a menacing semi-circle which grew every moment with gap narrowing. Soon, an attack wouldn't need to be ordered for both heroes to be swarmed. The Doctor stepped forward, one hand held back, signaling to wait.

"Awfully rude of you," the Doctor said, as if speaking to one and not an army. "Speaking poorly of the injured without looking someone in the eye."

The woman chuckled.

"I would not wish to frighten."

"Let me decide what's worth being scared over," the Doctor said. "It's hard enough to see anything down here, in the dark."

The woman laughed loudly, gripping her hood with both hands. Pulling it back, what was shown shook both hearts.

"Sight has been lost for so long it was barely a memory."

A bald head, where the black tattoo covered the woman's head, the clawed hand gripping her skull. Milky blank eyes reflected the Doctor's growing shock. Their entire demeanor expressed too much stolen to properly function yet driven by an unseen force which compensated in nightmarish ways. The Timelord witnessed enemy and grim promises of what the future held in one dangerous foe.

"Don't worry, it didn't hurt." She said. "And things are far clearer now. The beat of your hearts is… curious. No disgust… concern? Even knowing I've barely started to be a true terror, Doctor?"

"Letting go of the light does not mean it cannot be found," the Timelord said. "What is your name?"

The woman's smirk soured.

"Names were abandoned, even longer than sight, Doctor. I am a Helper of He who is Awake. When the tasks are done, what use would anything be in oblivion?"

"So that's what this is about," the Doctor said. "All these clacking bones, manipulated through the dagger like a remote control? Seems a tad noisy for the end of everything."

"This is just the beginning, experimenting with how best to bring out…" Helper stopped, grinning bittersweetly. "Quite clever, getting me to brag and possibly find a way to squirm stubbornly against the inevitable."

"Well, everyone loves a monologue, gives plenty of info, Helper."

The woman raised her dagger. It cackled with flames as the skeletons turned more volatile, moving forward with lurching steps.

"What little scraps were found shall be consumed in this val—"

"Luigi, get the knife."

The vacuum came to life in an instant. Soil kicked up behind her boots, and the Doctor smiled. Luigi had found a smart use of his anger. Sensing the flow stop, she quickly jumped aside as Luigi fired large clumps of mud and dirt at the army. While not the most egregious projectile, a massive clump of grounded up soil can quite effective. Especially when fired out of a vacuum cleaner with the force of cannon fire. Everything struck stumbled under a brutally abrupt reburial. Helper suffered the worst of it, but managed to claw to the surface, knife in hand. While aiming to do something possibly fatal, a plunger head zipped in and plucked the weapon away. Luigi tossed the dagger to the Doctor, who used her sonic screwdriver to compete with whatever strange frequency compelled this reanimation. When the attackers froze things looked better, then turned splendid as the skeletons crumbled into bony heaps, many quickly covered by soil.

The Helper remained submerged up to her waist, showing no sign of retaliating. Luigi helped the Doctor to siphon some of the poison, scanning it to seek an antidote for Mario and many others who could possibly have been afflicted. Yet the Timelord knew this skirmish could not count as any proper victory.

"Quite a dodgy bit of craftwork, this thing," the Doctor eyed the knife while kneeling down to face the Helper. "Tuned to affect bodies where life had once been present. Gives off a wicked kick of energy, I'm curious how someone makes something this powerful on their own. How many Helpers does it take to make a zombie dagger? Ten? Twenty? Did you take lunch breaks?"

"Do you intend to annoy me into submission?"

"Well, you're not going anywhere, and my Plumber friend is heading back to fix up all your vile actions. All it took was making a quick call to the locals above to drop down a feather. Brilliant stuff, this Kingdom."

"Why don't you stop playing cute, and be honest, Doctor, or are you afraid to know my answer?"

The Helper finally smiled as Doctor's enthusiasm faded to her true demeanor, calculated and determined.

"Where is He who is Awake?"

"Afraid to speak the Devil's name?"

"I've met plenty of gods and devils in my travels, nothing stands out too much to give any one credit above the rest."

"HAVE YOU REALLY?!"

Pulling back the mask made it easier for the Time Lord not to be so easily rattled. Even as the Helper laughed maniacally. Unable to properly move, only twist about, and the Doctor still had to resist the urge to back away.

"Almighty Timelord of Gallifrey, seen all and faced the worst with a smile. Never choosing to accept the common fear of what lies in the dark. Choosing to look at the deepest horror with a meek shrug. Even when standing in _**His Presence**_."

"Because he remembers you, Doctor. Remembers how you managed to look at the ultimate foe, yet bemused himself with the idea that you managed to look him with eyes shut from the truth. Too proud to accept something bigger, older, after some many centuries growing big in arrogance inside that blue box. He does recognize your progress, Doctor, but where you have needed to grow the Devil simply is."

The Doctor leaned in.

"You've spoken with him, so there is direct contact."

The Helper grimaced.

"Monologues, got me again."

"I've already figured out you're from my splash of a universe. All I need is a bit more to get a time and place."

All expressions faded from the Helper's face.

"And then what, Doctor?"

She leaned in until their faces were inches apart.

"Hop in your Tardis and charge in? Could you truly make that leap? Seek Him intentionally and think that would lead to anything but doom?"

"You saw that darkness, the same as me. Tell me, after looking at it, was there any choice but to accept you'll be consumed?"

There was no sound. The ground around the Helper abruptly swallowed her whole. No screams and yet the Doctor knew she would never see this woman again.

It took five minutes to move away, to turn her head, from that patch of dirt. Walking to the Tardis was harder than it should have been. No dead disturbed her, she wished something familiar or known would show up to be a problem. Getting to the console, typing in coordinates of the recent infestation showed significant progress in the search, but also highlighted how the journey was far from over.

Hand hovering over the switch that would lead to some new destination, the Doctor wondered despite her best efforts. She started to consider what it would mean to face something that would always be beyond anything her prowess could face. The end, of her and everything she cherished. That result could not be learned, only discovered by peering over the ledge, hoping to be wrong. With one way to find out, the Doctor flipped the switch and took the plunge.


	6. Mustafar

_Mustafar_

The air sizzled with ash. Rey had heard the stories, the nightmarish tales by smugglers willing to trade on Jakku, the kind used to keep children in line. _Be good, or Vader will drag you to Mustafar, land of fire and shadow._

_You'll never be seen again._

Rey thought of that cruel desert that had been her world for years, where it had almost been the where bones only would remain, and realized she didn't know heat until this moment. The added layers made her sweat, but even channeling the force couldn't counter scorched flesh. Looking out at the jagged rock surface, struggling to stand tall under a crimson sky, Rey started the long walk for… answers.

She had been careful to conceal the spare ship from the Millennium Falcon in a small cavern. No wildlife lived on the Mustafar System, and Lord Vader rejected prying eyes so no proper Empire station had been facilitated. Except for one single structure, a black dagger stabbing up at a hateful sky.

The palace of Darth of Vader.

Lazer fire had rained down on the structure over the years, especially in the death of its owner. But nothing left more than scratches and eventually people gave up. The one thing that no one dared in the thirty years since Endor was step onto the surface. Rey felt like she moved through a nightmare's shadow. Standing on the crumbled landing pad, a chill fell over the Jedi. Voices boomed in her mind, along with the scorching fury of lightsabers.

_**DON'T MAKE ME KILL YOU**_

_ANAKIN, MY ALLEGIANCE IS TO THE REPUBLIC, TO DEMOCRACY_

_**IF YOU'RE NOT WITH ME, THEN YOU'RE MY ENEMY**_

…_. ONLY A SITH DEALS IN ABSOLUTES… I WILL DO WHAT I MUST_

_**YOU WILL TRY**_

Rey could feel it, as if standing right in the fray as two former brothers clashed among scenery that echoed the rage twisted between them. The names filled in the rest. She had heard the climatic battle between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the fight which led to Anakin's mutilation that mutated him into Darth Vader. An inferno of heat burned over her flesh at merely thinking the name. Hands fell to the blaster gifted by Han Solo and the lightsaber she forged but an inner will stopped from arming herself.

Everything was a test. Leia had told her parts of Jedi ways that Luke had shared and what had been discovered through experience. The Dark Side yearned for corruption, anger and retaliation fed a Force Wielder's inner darkness. Allow yourself to be guided by blind emotion, pulled every which way, and you'll be torn apart to nothing.

Just like Ben…

She remembered when Kylo had first used his powers to probe her mind. How it kicked in a response like the immune system sensing infection. He hadn't anticipated the fight, which allowed her to glimpse a scared boy looking up at the silhouette of Vader with admiration. Rey never understood how anyone, especially one so close to knowledge of who the Dark Lord of the Sith had been, could see his corruption as power.

Surviving her ordeal in the cave, Rey recognized how the Dark Side could tempt. She trusted that to protect herself once inside. Kylo Ren was born of the shadows, one of the darkest corners in the Galaxy may expose the source to stopping him.

Every step forward chilled her bones. Rey had felt it before, when she visited Luke's Jedi temple. This was where Jedi and Padawans were brought to die.

Footsteps a few feet behind her made Rey draw a blaster.

"Woah," a Blonde woman exclaimed with hands raised. "Friend, friendly, no need for shooting."

Rey didn't lower the blaster. The woman wore a long grey hooded coat with some strange eyewear. Reaching out with the Force showed no hostile intent. She did however detect a strange energy about the woman.

"Two hearts?"

"Oi!" the woman wrapped the coat tightly around herself. "Bit rude, probing without consent."

Slightly embarrassed, Rey lowered her blaster.

"Sorry," the young Jedi sighed. "This place… puts me on edge. But I'm no threat, though I am armed. Search me, if you wish."

"Already done," the woman flicked her eyewear, it gave off a strange hum. "Hmm, ion blaster, very nasty piece of self defense right there. But that other piece, some kind of crystal-charged beam weapon."

"It's a lightsaber." Rey was baffled, the woman seemed completely ignorant to the word."

"Interesting," she said. "Gives off an extended beam, like acetylene torch. Bit dangerous, to wield something so 'sharp'."

"Not with practice."

Rey remembered her first time using it, against Kylo Ren. Her years of combat for survival pushed away by that cruel red blade until she dangled off a cliff. The Force flowed through her, matching, overpowering, and finally scarring Kylo Ren in his wounded state. It terrified her, to feel so powerful.

Rey's connection to the Force grew everyday since, through Luke's training and beyond. If Snoke's words held truth, then so did Ren's. Darkness and light, clawing for control. Trying to achieve balance might easily destroy them both if it continued. She needed to solve this, now.

That thought made her look towards Vader's Palace and its open chasm of an entrance.

"Mind if I take a guess, based on the scenery, something bad happened here." The woman was now beside Rey, eyewear reflecting the cruel structure.

"Too many horrible things to count," Rey said. "If you're here to explore or steal, walk away. There are few places more dangerous than here."

"Sounds like I found my next stop." The woman smiled and started to march forward.

She stopped after several steps and turned to face the Jedi.

"What's your name?"

"Um, it's Rey," the Jedi felt uneasy speaking in front of a Dark Side strong point.

"Well, Rey, I'm the Doctor." The woman offered her hand. "Very nice to meet you."

They shook hands as if meeting in a sunny meadow while hiking.

"Likewise, Doctor." Rey had met many strange beings in her life but this woman's aura radiated in ways that weren't found anywhere else. "You said this was your 'Next Stop', what are you searching for?"

The Doctor's pleasant demeanor shifted. It was still there, but Rey suddenly felt like she looked at eyes centuries older than any known, even the fabled Master Yoda.

"Something cruel is trying to break into existence, Rey. I seek to find its and drive them out. Following the threads lead me here, but what's your reason? I doubt it's the tropical climate."

The Jedi's hand strayed to her lightsaber.

"I'm trying to stop a war and save a life."

The Doctor's eyes flashed with understanding that made her heart ache for Leia.

"I think we can help each other, Rey. Between the two of us, I'm su—"

The Blonde lurched over, gasping from shock. Her whole body trembled and Rey's sensed the Doctor's aura blaze to life as if lit on fire. While not a Jedi, the darkness within seemed to have found a way to reach the Doctor.

The strange woman righted herself, but her demeanor hadn't brightened.

"Doctor?"

"When I tell you to run, do it."

This time there was no mistaking the Doctor's greater age. The Jedi decided to eed this warning. A final look between them expressed how they knew there was no avoiding where they needed to go.

Together they entered the dark, trusting their light to be strong enough against what lay ahead.


	7. Vader's Palace

_Vader's Palace_

The Time Lord felt the darkness pulsing. Every shadow hissed, walls branded with cruelty. So much lifeforce, extinguished with a hatred seen in only one creature before… but this wasn't their kind of place.

There were stairs.

Rey led the way, seemingly knowing where to go. Nothing but jagged hallways cut off by flows of lava. The sonic specs showed the interior structure, it helped avoid traps. Abrupt pits that led to unwanted molten baths, turrets that appeared at various angles that promised being shredded by blaster fire, and triggers that could potentially seal off rooms from oxygen.

The Time Lord marveled at her comrade's curious talent for evading death. Being able to jump with surreal speed, block multiple laser blasts, but the trick where she managed to stop a stone wall from slamming shut made the Time Lord decide things were quite odd with her new ally.

"Answer me this," the Doctor pulled out a piece of paper in a holder. "What… do you see this says about me?"

Rey leaned in, tilting her head about.

"…Um, is it supposed to be blank?"

The Doctor snapped the holder shut.

"Knew it," she said while putting her tool away. "Takes a pretty powerful psychic to counter psychic paper. And you are Thick with it."

"Psy-what? I'm sorry?"

"Psychic," the Doctor said. "You know, move objects with the mind, read thoughts, bend all the good silverware, that kind of thing. Do you not have a word for that here?"

"It's… called the Force."

"Really, never heard of it."

The young woman looked like the Doctor had grown two heads to match her hearts.

"It's the lifeforce of the galaxy."

"Nope, no clue, travel quite a bit, barely hear about things like that."

"People have called it that for Millenia."

"I travel _really_ quickly, hardly hear a word outside my own thoughts."

It was clear that this universe had its own principles and the Time Lord decided to not twist reality by questioning intergalactic physics, again. With unfortunate opportunity, Rey froze up as if some horrific darkness dug into her heart. The Doctor felt it in both hers. They decided to follow it, perhaps their first real clue to what lay in shadows.

They entered a chamber that seemed carved in cruelty. Rey's eyes were fixed on the rows of lightsabers like her own, the centers destroyed. On the opposite wall were shackles with deep burned slashes, they looked… dragged along where bodies would be placed. No one endured a clean death.

Rey's head hung low, the greater devastation of what this room implied stabbed at both hearts.

"Do you know who did all of this? Is it the person you're trying to stop?"

"What do you m—"

"If words were enough, there wouldn't be enemies and you wouldn't be here."

_No need to say how enemies are often born from words…_

The Doctor wasn't fond of taking advantage when people were vulnerable, but this realm was too odd to continue without knowledge. Listening to Rey helped fill in parts of the dark puzzle surrounding them.

"There was a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker, a war hero. He became corrupted by a hunger for power, selfish drive disguised in an alleged selfless desire to hold onto loved ones. Pain and anger twisted him into a monster, they called him Darth Vader. This was his palace, the spot where all sense of soul burned away."

"I now fight his grandson, calls himself Kylo Ren. He tears apart anything good within him in a vain attempt to be greater than Vader. He would burn the galaxy to prove himself strongest among ashes."

"I had friend like that once," the Doctor mused. "She had been horrid to many people. Fighting the past got her killed."

Those word casted a shadow on Rey's face, dread perhaps that Kylo would suffer a similar fate.

"What are you trying to find, Rey?"

The Jedi's eyes grew hard.

"A voice in the darkness, to find out how to drag someone to the light."

Turning her head as if hearing something the Doctor couldn't, Rey stated down one of the older paths in the palace. Barely taking a step caused surging rage to boil across her being. With several breaths, the demons were held at bay. But they won't stop, she realizes, they to break free and drink in raw hatred.

_It cannot be halted_, she realized.

_…but perhaps it can be directed._

Catching up with Rey wasn't difficult. Ashen dust had built up to the point that boot prints were practically signatures. The trail was steady, not rushed or hesitant. Perhaps being a 'Jedi' demanded a sense of self where emotions could not blind goals or cripple resolve. Not really the Doctor's style, a hammer in a monk's hand is just more patient looking for nails. Perhaps that's what led to someone becoming like this Vader. A sudden hiss echoed from the walls at the name. No more words that start with V then, the Time Lord had a feeling this strategy would prove effective in the immediate future.

Steel abruptly replaced stone after several steps. The Doctor's boots echoed with a hollow crunch from coated ashes. Sonic specs picked up frequencies dulled from decades of nonexistent use. The curious thing was that none of mechanical commands for the machines below matched the torturous methodology above. It was medical equipment.

Even abandoned, the coldness of this space made it clear no love had been used in its design. More likely, a persistence of pain.

The stairs led to a bridge where lava flowed down on one side. At the other end was the doors to the medical bay. Rey was nowhere to be seen but the specs highlighted how the door had been rigged open. Clearly this Jedi was talented in getting places before using a lightsaber.

Approaching with caution, the Doctor's hearts pumped adrenaline, getting her ready for the slightest hint of trouble. Passing the doorway, everything became colder. Information started to list various medications, mechanical fluids, and decimated droids who appeared to be used for sealing metal to flesh.

A hospitals worth of supplies, yet one 'bed'.

It resembled the jaws of some massive black-toothed beast snapping down when used. Experience with cybernetic nightmares helped show similar applications but considering how extensive the applications, what kind of man could endure so much.

"So, this is where Vader slept."

The Doctor noticed the Jedi standing on the opposite side of the unit. Coming around to her side, it was easier to notice the strain of pain on Rey's face. A hand hovered over the metal shell.

"Making a personal bet with yourself or something?" The Doctor came to stand beside Rey, whose eyes were fixed on the machine.

"This is it," Rey spoke so softly it was barely a whisper. "Right here, if I touch this spot, the source of his pain… I can glimpse deeper into the darkness than ever before. But… I don't know if I'll survive the sight."

The Time Lord could almost imagine the shadows in the dead room deepen. This was where her destination had been all along. While the evil residing here did not resemble… her target, it did no one any good face such cruelty alone.

"Alright then," the Doctor placed her hand besides Rey's. "Count me in. We'll channel it together."

The young Jedi looked at the Doctor with deep dread.

"You don't know what you're offering."

"Well sure, I am may not be one with the Force, but I've picked up some tricks. I think we can handle the strain as a team. Ready when you are."

Rey looked like she wanted to argue it further, yet something in the Time Lord's manner helped ease the concern.

"Together then." She said with a sigh.

The two women nodded before pressing down on the container.


	8. Where Darkness Dwells

_Where Darkness Dwells_

Physically, Rey knew they were still standing, holding onto the medical chamber.

But her soul tumbled through shadows.

The world became a blazing red pain. She could hear a man screaming as if his flesh were melting.

**YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE**

**IT WAS SAID YOU WOULD DESTROY THE SITH**

**NOT JOIN THEM**

**BRING BALANCE TO THE FORCE**

**NOT LEAVE IT IN DARKNESS**

The words bombarded Rey's descent, knocking her in every direction until she almost floated, drowning in endless pain.

Fortunately, the Jedi came with an anchor.

"Hold On!"

The Doctor's words cleared the fog as strong fingers gripped Rey's hand. Together, they pushed through pain of another's past. Within those twisting shadows, Rey could see a strange plateau, beneath was a shifting sea of nightmares that promised only death or worse.

Reaching out, the Force came to her, a jagged connection but enough. As the corrosive sea tugged at, Rey resisted, managing to land herself and the Doctor on the structure's cliffside. A coldness clawed at her soul despite no wind, the storms of agony raged above. The sea tumbled, skeletal monstrosities clawed blindly for fresh prey within the waters, crashing into only refuge that was more than halfway submerged yet stayed afloat.

Placing her free hand on the smooth surface, Rey realized they were standing on metal.

_Armor_, some quieter part of herself whispered.

Instinct took over where other senses would have failed to comprehend the structure. It spoke of an image that nearly made her tumble into the abyss from shock. It couldn't be denied once dug in. Rey imagined great limbs, solitary embodiment of power that once made the galaxy tremble with fear.

"…Darth Vader…"

A hiss of bubbles breached the black bile below. The structure trembled beneath them. It started to get lower too. No, Rey realized with growing horror, it was shrinking! Any footing quickly vanished before she could even blink. The Force wove through the young Jedi, lifting both her and the Doctor.

Rey remembered to keep her focus, manipulation of ones body in space was only different in the mind compared to rocks. Willpower and focus kept from the horrific waters below. Leia's teachings helped the young but pressure already started to build. The Dark Side wasn't known for stability… this wouldn't last long.

Then she heard the laughter.

It was carried by raging winds of some cruel storm. A harsh cackling emphasized every syllable of joy. Its owner clearly found pleasure in seeing others in pain.

_**Wonderful**_

One word struck and almost made Rey tumble into oblivion. She grasped her lightsaber, not daring to ignite until defending herself became necessary.

_**You wait to be killed by the first move**_

_** The way of Jedi**_

The voice spoke of her path with venomous derision. That alone revealed its owner. A nightmare from thirty years past.

Yet… she recognized it…

_**You think that weapon offers protection here**_

Laughter shook the world.

_**The lightsaber you carry**_

_** Only proves how quickly light fades**_

_**Oh, the Betrayals it caused **_

_** Lives taken**_

_** … Even Children**_

The saber ignited without Rey's thumb. But the glow wasn't blue.

It was blood red, and bleeding.

She could hear the cries of younglings, begging for their lives before the sl—

"Rey, snap out of it!"

Instinct helped her activate the saber and block another blade. Thankfully, hers truly was blue as it clashed with a red reflecting the harshest fires of Mustafar.

Darth Vader towered above her. She had studied holovids from Leia's archives. Kylo's grandfather, the original Skywalker, a living machine of death. But his infamous chest sensors weren't lit up. In fact, there also no dreaded respirator hiss. This was more a shadowy shell than specter. Yet Rey's arm felt numb just from blocking on strike.

The Force gave no warning, Shadow-Vader swiveled his blade. A quick 'duck' saved Rey from being decapitated.

_**Foolish Child**_

_** Coming here, hoping to uncover some secret of the SITH**_

_**Those are found from within**_

_**Here, all that can be seen is my greatest weapon**_

_** A CAGE FOR FURY**_

_** NOW SUFFER IT**_

The grey skies brightened to illuminate an armada of Vaders hovering above, a thousand burning blades opposite the sea of black claws below. Both offered the darkest ways of death only Sith could provide.

It took the Doctor flailing about to pull Rey's focus from the horrific sight. The Blonde woman's eyes were clenched in agonized concentration.

"Rey," she rasped. "Is there a way out of this mental entrapment."

The question helped recalibrate Rey's overworked senses. It became easier to look past the armada of Vaders and sense where the illusion could be shattered.

"Yes," Rey knew doubt would poison their insane odds. "We just need to get past these monsters."

The young Jedi had little experience facing multiple sabers but keeping a steady mind s-_would_ help.

"Yeah, about that." The Doctor said. "I might have a way of making it worse for everyone, which should be better on our end. Interested?"

"Sure." Rey could sense more of her newfound friend's chaotic energy surging to the surface. She sensed… hatred?"

With a cry, the Doctor's body released slithering shadows. The dark things grew, taking a shape similar to droids. Bumps all over its body two rods for limbs and a long burning blue eye.

_EXTERMINATE!_

The cold robotic cry was echoed by other droids. Their numbers matched the Vaders. While limited in movement, Rey could sense these things were somehow… alive.

"This place works off of nightmares, I just pumped out my worst ones. Meet the Daleks."

One Dalek blasted a Vader, one Sith Lord slashed the shooter apart. Madness erupted into a thousand lasers and swords warring for supremacy. Shredded Daleks, some annihilated from refracted energy blasts, used strange cup-like hands to crush the skulls of distracted Vaders. Metal carcasses rained down while Rey glided them away from larger chunks of debris. The screams for extermination and radiation were deafening.

Rey managed to tune it out, seeing past the fighting, and saw their exit.

"Don't let go!"

A bit obvious, but Rey was _slightly_ distracted focusing on not dying.

Moving up was simply a matter of choice, the destination kept in her mind, and the rest was simply survival. Too many opponents to keep in mind, the trick became focusing on the things most in her way. Blocking shots at everything that moved, being pinned by three Vaders before pushing them into opposing Daleks, and even managing to split on Dalek up the middle with one stroke were among many significant tricks that as a Jedi could appreciated by the living some other time. A deadening silence formed around Rey and the Doctor as they ascended, still in danger, but escape eventually was no longer an impossible challenge.

The laugher followed Rey, as if her survival had been expected, it not make the Jedi feel comfortable.

When the nightmare finally released her, she wondered why that voice reminded of the deserts of Jakku… and two people who wanted to desperately to remember. But the memory was tangled in pain.

Waking up felt easier than it should been, but it helped to be in good company.

"Well, might be the first time I might owe a Dalek," the Doctor muttered. "Best not make a habit of that."

It was hard to determine how much time had passed. At least until the Doctor stuck a finger in the air and licked it.

"Two, wait, one minute and fifty-five minutes. Not too bad. I'm assuming you knew a bit more about those exchanges down there?"

"A little…" The Jedi had no wish to share her burden with a stranger who had been a great deal of help.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

Cold laughter dug at the back of her mind.

"I'll sort it out, somewhere else."

"Right," the Doctor said. "I think I'll do the same."

Without a word, they left Vader's palace. Rey led the way in silence, hearing her comrade follow close behind. Soon burning sky of ashes greeted them bitterly. As they reached what little hinted at a landing pad, something stirred. This felt different though, not of Vader or other dark forces. Her foot almost stepped on it.

A flower. Stubbornly resembling green, with reddish-black petals, the plant was strong. Knowing what to look for, they saw more like it, and actually grass breaking through the stone. The Lava below was starting to cool. Small changes and yet if they continued, something different might stand in a place that once was the epicenter of fear.

"I've been a fool."

"What?"

The Doctor took off her shades, revealing a surprising sparkle remaining in those eyes.

"A fool," the Blonde said with a shrug. "Been following the worst thread of darkness through… many places, and ultimately I got misled to some other type of darkness. That's the problem with looking for shadows, they never want to end. And they'll never steer you to the light."

_Was that… Ben's mistake? Tricking himself into finding meaning in nothingness. You can't grow in the dark, that takes light._

The flowers became much easier to see now.

"Okay then," the Doctor said with a sigh. "I believe I'm going to seek someone who's good at keeping the light at bay. That's the trick." Nodding, surer of herself with each second, the strange woman put on her shades as if going to battle or putting on a concert. Either way, Rey had a feeling it would be loud.

"You going to be okay, Rey?" the Doctor asked, the young Jedi wished she could lie and say something reassuring. But a thought did occur.

"What you said, about seeking the light," Rey said. "There other Jedi before me, before my own teacher. They exist as more than legacy. If I can reach them…"

_I might know how to stop all of this._

_ I might save him._

Rey felt like she was starting to figure out the way to do right by Leia, by Luke, and Han Solo. It would take time, and… a change in scenery. The General had talked about relocating the Resistance somewhere used by her Master as an early training ground. A good start, she thought.

The Doctor's grin made her believe this was the best move forward.

"Alright," the Doctor offered her hand. "Been a pleasure, Rey, I wish you luck on your path ahead."

"And the same to yours, Doctor," she said, taking it. A thought crossed the Jedi's mind. "When you meant a protector of the light, what exactly did you mean."

A slight frown furrowed on the woman's face.

"Best not worry about things that aren't in your neck of the woods, so to speak. But if I find myself in need of a hand, I know who to look for." With that, the stranger bowed and started down the opposite way from Rey's ship. A moment later, the Jedi heard a groaning noise that gave off odd disturbances in the Force. They passed, and Rey knew the Doctor was gone.

Not away, gone, a part of her focused on that difference for a brief time before returning to her ship. While typing in coordinates back to Millennium Falcon, Rey focused.

She kept the message simple.

One that could be felt no matter the state of being in the Force.

_Be with me._

Rey, the Last Jedi, would find them, becoming a beacon that all the lost could seek.

She would find a way through the shadows and bring back the light.


	9. London

_London_

Finding guardians of the light was easier than most hopeless souls might imagine. In a universe, and their adjacent kin, where evil rampantly misbehaved, it lifted the Doctor's hearts. To see the darkness challenged.

It also provided useful ammunition, she thought, while making a great of noise.

Karaoke truly could be an acquired taste.

They started coming out of alleys during Pink Floyd's _Another Brick in the Wall_. Black cloaked figures moved through London, all time frozen to prevent unnecessary complications. The Doctor had gotten into the bit where the a Scotsman argued over eating meat before pudding, taking a sudden spin about the stage. She stopped, facing a larger, unfriendlier, crowd surrounding the stage.

"Have I been on the mike too long," the Doctor said with a grin. "Sorry about that. How's about one more song, eh? Any requests?"

"No requests," a woman in black with twisted tattoos stepped onto the stage. "Only promises. Doctor, we here promise to use this frozen moment to kill your closest friends and loved ones before burning this country to ashes should you not surrender."

The Time Lord eyed the bar quickly, noting all the patrons in their place, unharmed.

"Time freeze," the Doctor said indifferently. "Thought this crowd was too civil for karaoke. I get too pitchy at the chorus parts, real annoying."

"You're not listening, Doctor!"

The woman started drawing out a dagger from her sleeve. It clattered to the floor while the owner clutched both ears along the equally agonized cultists as sonic waves bombarded them.

"And you're not paying attention," the Doctor switched her sonic off, away from the mike, while eyeing how the headphone for every patron were snuggly in place. She pried the customized earplugs out of her own before facing the woman.

"Freezing time gives off a bittersweet smell, like roasted cinnamon. I got a whiff of it hours ago, relatively. I appreciate your boss bothering to take the bait."

A not-so subtle reach for the knife stopped. Eyeing the Time Lord, the cultist smirked venomously. Her expression mirrored by the other cloaked figures.

"You expect us to believe this was intentional? Revealing your key location in time and space only allowed out Master to decree your death."

"But He Hasn't!"

The advance of darkness froze. They weren't smiling anymore. Good, she thought, let them be annoyed. In fact, the Doctor intended to educate.

"I had plenty of warning before this manipulation. Killing me or the vain attempt has been tried many different times. Your Master, He Who is Awake, The Many-Named Shadow, has only one reason for these dramatics."

The Doctor leaned in until her face was inches from the woman's. She could see the scarring and felt echoes of even deeper agonies that made listening to shadows so tempting. The problem with two hearts is a greater sense of empathy for those who dared leave both open to others. Her anger was directed at the thing festering in this poor woman. She sensed something twitch.

"You want to know what I found out and I'm bored seeing your petty machinations, so let's talk."

It was curious, how seeking a chat could be equivalent to declaring war.

The Time Lord was surprised to see dread on the cultist's face.

"Death after karaoke might satisfy most Lords of Darkness. But unless he sees my doom, he'll always doubt if victory ever deserved to be his. So why not prove it, give me a front row seat or kill me now and we'll see how well you're received."

The Doctor never took her eyes off the woman, knowing no other member would dare make their boss seem a cheater before the game started.

"Doctor," the woman finally regained her sadistically-approved professionalism. "Allow me the curtesy of welcoming you to Hell 2.0."

She latched onto the Time Lord's wrist. Light flashed as time resumed in a now nearly vacant bar.

The War for the Universe's soul had begun.


End file.
